Prepare for the CRC® exam

Take the instructor-led CRC certification training course and be three times more likely to pass on your first attempt.

Your success as a CRC is dependent on your ability to prioritize the information presented to you and organize it in ways that allow you to problem-solve efficiently. The following preparation tips will help ensure that you’re fully prepared.

Ensure you have mastered the essentials

To earn the CRC credential, you must be able to demonstrate expertise in the complexity of diseases associated with chronic conditions and comorbidities, as well as mastery of ICD-10-CM and risk adjustment guidelines.

The CRC exam is a difficult, high-level exam and not intended for individuals lacking CRC training or equivalent experience working with risk adjustment models.

Highly recommended: AAPC offers a three-topic fundamentals of medicine (medical terminology, anatomy, and pathophysiology) essential training course to provide you with a high-level knowledge of medical terminology and other information that will allow you to succeed in the path to obtaining your CRC credential.

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Train with AAPC’s world-class instructors

The surest way to prepare for the CRC exam is to train with AAPC by enrolling in the CRC Preparation Course. Designed by the creators of the exam, this course will ensure you receive an effective and comprehensive education covering proper use of all medical code sets and guidelines you'll encounter on the exam. Choose from a self-paced course or a virtual instructor-led course.

Required: Knowledge of medical terminology and anatomy (or AAPC courses).

The prep course is aimed at teaching the principles of risk adjustment and accurate diagnosis coding. Students taking the CRC Certification Course will gain expertise in disease complexities — particularly those associated with chronic conditions and comorbidities — as well as expertise in ICD-10-CM guidelines and risk adjustment models. In addition, there will be discussion of predictive modeling, financial impact of risk adjustment coding, documentation challenges, official diagnosis coding guidelines, and diagnosis coding in ICD-10-CM. This course is recommended for anyone who is currently working in risk adjustment or wants to learn risk adjustment coding.

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Test your knowledge before the exam

Diagnose your strengths and weaknesses. We highly recommend that you take one of the 50-question online practice exams to help you become familiar with the format and time constraints of the real test. Our practice tests accurately mirror the exam to ensure you are fully prepared on exam day. 

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Diagnose and prioritize your focus areas

After you take your first practice exam, you’ll realize not all areas of CRC curriculum require equal study time. Based on your diagnostic results and practice performance, we’ll recommend lessons and exercises at just the right level. Follow these recommendations to make the most of your practice time.

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Review the study guide and test-taking techniques

Designed to help you prepare for the exam, our official CRC Study Guide walks you through a review of ICD-10-CM coding and documentation, risk adjustment models, predictive modeling and quality of care, the link between risk adjustment and medical funding, clinical documentation barriers, and frequently coded conditions in risk adjustment models. Best of all, it provides testing tips for taking the AAPC's CRC exam.

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